CHAPTER SEVENTEEN; ACTING LIKE WE'RE SEVENTEEN AGAIN.

"I don't think I fully understand that you're gone, because I can still see you here"

"You're back?"

"Yes sir"

"Thank god, we can't get into your Netflix" Minhyuk stressed as he moved out of the way of the people carrying the groceries.

"Are you kidding I literally sent you a message of numbered instructions so that you could follow them and turn it on"

"Well your instructions were wrong," Jooheon told Somi and she groaned, lifting the bags of food onto the counter before she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"Please tell me one of you were smart enough to get it on" Somi pleaded as she entered the room, only to be met by blinking eyes.

"Come on fellas" She whined and Hyunwoo threw her remote at her.

"Oh, wise one would you please-"

"It's as simple as that" With a click of a button and a few presses down on the arrows on the remote, Somi had Netflix up and ready to go, silencing the others in the room.

"Snack time!" Minhyuk barged into the living room with the shopping bags raised over his head.

"Please don't break anything in my house" Somi begged as Minhyuk shoved past her to put the bags on her coffee table. Changkyun had his hand on her back before Somi could tumble to the ground and when she looked at him, he smiled, brushing past her with a small collection of bowls in his other hand.

"Give me my ice cream" Hyungwon demanded as he came into the living room with a single spoon in his hand.

"I see you're finding your way around my apartment just fine" Somi commented to him as she plopped down on the couch.

"Simple enough" He answered her distractedly, waiting for his tub of ice cream to come out of the bag.

"There, get away from me, both of you" Hoseok waved Somi and Hyungwon off and Somi gasped at him.

"I was sitting here before you even came in, you get lost" Somi shoved him with her foot and Hoseok brushed her off.

"We need to work on your leg muscles"

"Don't bring my health up in front of everyone" Somi snapped as Changkyun sat down next to her and covered their legs with a fluffy blanket.

"Your kick was weak" Hoseok reprimanded as Changkyun snorted.

"You're coming with me next time I go to the gym" Somi glared at Changkyun. Changkyun swallowed and looked away, not wanting to be made to go to the gym.

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"No, but remember that one time that Hoseok got himself stuck in the baby swing at the park?"

"Don't laugh it was so painful!" Hoseok exclaimed, hugging the couch cushion to his broad chest tightly as he hid his face in it. Minhyuk laughed the loudest at Hoseok's expense and slapped him on the back as he recalled the memory.

"The teacher had to call the police and there was never another lunchtime excursion again" Hoseok yelled into the cushion and Jooheon laughed as he tried to pull it away from Hoseok's face so that they could all see how red he had gone in the face. It was a tough battle, but Jooheon was still proud of his win when the cotton of the cushions case betrayed Hoseok's tight gip and Jooheon was flung to the ground by gravity with the pillow in his hands, revealing Hoseok's face.

"Look at him!" He pointed, laughing from the floor and Hoseok swung his arm, making his hand connect with Jooheon's thigh in a way that had a loud clap crashing into everyone's ears as Jooheon screamed and pain burnt him so much that he flailed around on the carpet like a fish with an open mouth and squirming limbs.

"" Hyungwon scoffed as Jooheon curled up in a ball at his feet. Hyungwon nudged Jooheon with his foot and Jooheon whined loudly as if he wasn't a man in his twenties with responsibilities.

"Oh my god! Didn't they have to call in the fire department so that they could cut him out?" Hyunwoo gasped, only just recalling the memory that had Hoseok close to crying.

"No!" Hoseok yelled defensively.

"Don't pretend that Mr fireman didn't have to pick you up out of the swing like a cat snatching one of her kittens" 

"Oh my god, I remember that!"

"Right by the scruff of his neck, shirt and all!"

"Shut up they ripped hairs out and it didn't even help!" Hoseok exclaimed and Somi covered with her hand to try and hide her loud laughter but she was hardly heard amongst the ruckus coming from the others, especially Jooheon who was back on the couch.

"You're the idiot that went and shoed your legs through the swing!"

"Stop it I wanted to see if I could make it work!" Hoseok uselessly defended himself against the attacks but the others were unrelenting with the recall of embarrassing memories and laughter it brought.

"Well, what about that time that Changkyun fell down the stairs in the assembly hall?" Hoseok quickly shot when the laughter and pokes didn't stop aiming towards him.

"Oh my god, that was the best day of my life-"

"Don't turn this on me!" The usually quiet Changkyun laughed and Somi squeaked, slower to catch onto the memory.

"Don't you encourage them it's because of you that I fell down the stairs!" Changkyun shoved Somi away from him and took the blanket they were sharing for himself.

"She didn't ask for you to start dancing and hollering when she won an award" Hyungwon pointed out with a snort.

"Yeah you weirdo, everyone in the school was watching" Somi pointed out and Changkyun huffed.

"I'm sorry that I was proud of you, it was an amazing feat to be in the first place amongst all students"

"Alas, it never happened again" Hyungwon sighed and Somi threw her cushion at him, hard.

"Says the one that was barely passing"

"Hey I still got where I wanted to be in life Hyungwon retorted, throwing the pillow back at Somi, she caught it and put it behind her back to keep herself propped up.

"Can you stop throwing things? I don't want my food to spill because Somi will make me clean it up" Hyunwoo defensively covered his food and Somi nudged him with her foot as she hissed.

"Of course I would, your mess your problem" She reasoned, going back to her dinner that was gently placed on the coffee table the moment things started to get rowdy again. The noise continued and Somi ate with a smile on her face, watching as even Hyungwon was able to laugh amongst them without any malicious intent behind it.

"When's the ice cream coming out?" Hoseok asked and Minhyuk scoffed.

"It's staying in its hiding place until you finish everything on your plate" He pointed to Hoseok's plate with his fork and Hoseok widened his eyes at Minhyuk warningly.

"Did you just ask for dessert like a child?" Minhyuk shot back, unphased by Hoseok's warning eyes that narrowed on him at the accusation.

"It was a simple question"

"Yeah, the sort of simple questions that children ask" Minhyuk shut again. Hoseok raised a fist at Minhyuk who shot onto his feet to take his empty plate away.

"I'll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me" He sang as he escaped to safety.

"Oh no" Minhyuk gasped loudly not long after entering the kitchen and everyone looked up, "Hoseok, your ice cream" He continued and Hoseok jumped up and rushed to the kitchen.

"What happened to it?" He stressed on his way and Minhyuk stood there, looking into the freezer. Hoseok poked his head into the freezer only to hiss as Minhyuk knocked him on the head with the door.

"It's still in good condition, I was hoping something had happened to it" He explained as he went tot eh sink to wash his dishes and Hoseok rubbed his head, following him with a vengeance.

"AAAAH!" Minhyuk yelled and everyone acted as if they couldn't hear anything from the living room.

"What movie should we watch next?"

"You pick"

"You sure?" Jooheon asked and the others nodded, not wanting to move.

"What about this one?" Jooheon held up the movie that looked ideal to him and sparkles filled everyone's eyes.

"Oh my god"

"I can't believe you've got a copy of that"

"We used to watch this all the time"

"Put it on Jooheon," Hyunwoo told him and Jooheon delightfully did as requested.

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Somi looked around the living room and her heart clenched, it was a hard sight to swallow now that it was later into the night, even as she tried to gulp it down, there was a lump in that stuck. Changkyun was asleep as the last movie played, the others were blinking to stay awake as they ignored the need for sleep to watch the movie, stirring in confusion as Somi got up and crawled over the back of the couch so that she wouldn't trip over any of them as she left the room.

"What's wrong?" Kihyun was quick to follow her, unaffected when she shut the door to her room behind her. Somi sat down on her bed, a small repressed sob breaking through her lips as the tears ran down her cheeks that she was holding in for the sake of the others.

"Somi?" Kihyun rushed over and crouched down in front of her, looking up into her eyes before she clamped them shut so that she couldn't see him.

"It's just bringing back so many memories, everyone's out there, watching movies and talking until we're too tired to keep talking, Changkyun's fallen asleep first and Hyungwon's not that far from crashing either" Somi sobbed, rubbing at her face, Kihyun tried to pull her hands away, but he couldn't touch her and he was glad in that moment that she didn't see what he had attempted to do or it would have evoked more negative emotions from her.

"Isn't that a good thing Somi? Why won't you look at me?" He asked her and Somi in a breath with her hands over her leaking eyes.

"It is a good thing" Somi admitted, bobbing her head and Kihyun leant back again as she looked up without having to be asked a second time. Her eyes shone with sadness as tears pulled at her waterlines and then dripped, leaving a line down her cheeks to mark the journey they had taken.

"But you're not physically here Kihyun, they don't think you're here with us. And that hurts, knowing that I can see you but they can't" She whimpered and Kihyun let out a big breath, his face dropping as hurt flashed across his eyes and he quickly looked down to hide it from her, but Somi already knew.

Every day Kihyun spent with Somi, he regretted the choices he had made in the past.

Today he regretted it more than he ever had.

A knock echoed into the room and Somi wiped her face, standing up as she sniffled in an attempt to clear her nose. Hyungwon's head poked into the room and he looked around, having to turn the light on to be able to see properly.

"I didn't say you could open the door" Somi pointed out.

"I figured that if you were getting changed you would have said something sooner" Hyungwon answered in a soft voice that was full of the need for sleep. He entered the room and shut the door again, looking around Somi's room. Hyungwon looked at Kihyun as he stood to his full height and tried to smile at Hyungwon.

"Did we upset you?" He looked at Somi then and she shrugged her shoulders as she shook her head, unable to hide her red nose and eyes from Hyungwon, telling him that she had been crying in the short time it took him to find her in her room.

"Then why are you crying?" He questioned her and Somi's shoulders bobbed again.

"Having you all here like this just evoked a lot of memories and emotions, I guess?" She told him and Hyungwo shrugged, approaching her in the middle of the room.

"Do you need us to leave?" Somi shook her head and wiped under her eye as another tear escaped without permission.

"I just needed time to get myself together" She answered honestly when there was no look of hostility in Hyungwon's sleepy eyes.

"The others want you to come and finish the movie with us," He told her and Somi nodded.

"I will soon, you go back out and I'll follow shortly" She sniffled and Hyungwon sighed, stepping forward as he pulled Somi into his chest and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Somi's eyes widened and she in a breath at Hyungwon's actions. Her arms wrapped around Hyungwon gratefully and she took in the hug, feeling the distance between the two of them emotionally become smaller like it had physically. Hyungwon propped his chin on Somi's shoulder and adjusted his arms, pulling her in closer as he let out a breath and looked at Kihyun. His eyes shimmered as he looked up at Hyungwon. He had to look away from the shadow of the boy he once knew, embarrassed by the gratitude and happiness in the eyes of the spirit.

"Thank you Hyungwon, for doing what I can't," Kihyun told him gently and Hyungwon nodded in acknowledgement, looking at Kihyun again. 

Maybe I was wrong, maybe where I belong is where I am with them.

"Wait," Somi pulled back, watery eyes looking at Hyungwon widely.

"Did you hear him too?" She asked.

"What?"

"You just nodded, I felt it on my shoulder," Somi pointed out and looked behind her, "do you see Kihyun too?" She inquired and Hyungwon hesitated as he looked at Kihyun, then he looked back at Somi, who had just been crying into his shoulder and nodded, admitting to what he could see.

"Since when?" Somi asked and Hyungwon shrugged.

"Since I saw you," Hyungwon told her and Somi looked at Kihyun.

"Oh," The door rattled as knuckles rapped against it again and Hyunwoo spoke.

"Are you two coming back out or am I interrupting something?" He asked in a quiet voice so that Changkyun wouldn't be awoken and Somi sighed, walking over to the door and pulling it open. She brushed past Hyunwoo after giving him a look and Hyunwoo looked back at Hyungwon, smiling awkwardly to show his teeth. Hyungwon rolled his eyes and shut Somi's bedroom door before they both went back to the living room after Somi.

"Hey, it's almost finished," Hoseok told her when Somi went and took her place beside him again.

"And Kyunie still won't know how it ends" She whispered back, leaning on Hoseok as he looked at Changkyun with a quiet laugh.

"Some things won't change" He breathed out and Somi hummed, eyes focusing on the TV.

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"Is this your way of saying you're kicking us out?"

"I'm asking if you want to go to breakfast, not if you want help putting your things in your car" Somi retorted. And Changkyun rose an eyebrow at her.

"Shut up, since when did you have this sort of attitude?" She scrunched her face up and Chagkyun bounced his brows teasingly.

"He's gotten braver with you lately" Hyunwoo commented as he came into the kitchen with his hand ruffling his hair, messing it up further than what moving in his sleep had done.

"He has" Somi nodded in agreement as Changkyun approached her to try and forgiveness from Somi who cowered away with a snarl, protecting the grudge she was forming against Changkyun.

"It's only because I want to stay here in your apartment" He whined and Hyunwoo chuckled in amusement as the two of them began to bicker heavily between themselves about Somi's apartment and Changkyun's growing desire to spend time in it.

"Maybe Changkyun should actually move in" Hyunwoo voiced after staring at Somi and Changkyun in contemplation for several minutes.

"Huh?" Changkyun looked at Hyunwoo and Somi blinked.

"You support my argument?" Changkyun asked Hyunwoo who shook his head.

"Oh I have no idea what you were arguing about anymore because I stopped listening, but I was thinking maybe it would be good for the two of you" Hyunwoo shrugged.

"Isn't that maybe a little too soon?" Somi voiced and Hyunwoo snorted.

"You make it sound like you're dating," He told her.

"No I don't mean in that way, I mean no offence to you Kyunie, but we've only just gotten comfortable with each other after months of trying to understand each other. Isn't that maybe not a good idea for us?" She proposed and Changkyun shrugged his shoulders, not offended by Somi turning down the prospect of him going to his home and collecting all his things to immediately bring them to her apartment like he was mentally planning to do.

"Maybe it's something to think about for the future" He proposed in return so Somi shrugged her shoulders, not turning the idea down again.

"She didn't say no" Changkyun smiled and Hyunwoo nodded in agreement.

"What are we doing for breakfast?" Minhyuk yawned as he followed the sounds of people into the kitchen and Somi smiled at him.

"Let's go out for breakfast, you all eat for more than I can cook"

"Sounds good to me" Minhyuk nodded and Somi looked pointedly at Changkyun.

"Why couldn't you answer like that, huh?"

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Somi couldn't help but worry when she hadn't seen Kihyun all day, Changkyun and Hyunwoo had caught onto her worry, but she couldn't explain to them what she was feeling, she knew she would scare the wits out of them and change their relationship again. She would go looking for Changkyun and Hyunwoo throughout the day, hoping to find Kihyun following them around, but he was nowhere to be seen and it had her stomach dropping. She had tried calling Hoseok to maybe talk about it a little bit and rationalise her nerves, but he hadn't answered so she had bee trying to do it on her own all day, hoping that Kihyun would come back when he had done what he'd wanted to do.

He wasn't at the apartment waiting for her when she got home and changing out of her outfit for the day and into something more comfortable felt like more of a chore than it should have. It was lonelier than usual for Somi when she dragged her laptop into the living room and turned the TV on for background noise, Kihyun's lack of presence was weighing down on her.

Somi looked around her apartment with a growingly permanent frown on her face, wondering where Kihyun would go without telling her.

She just hoped he was alright.

"You mean it's time for you to go?" Kihyun nodded and Hyungwon let out a heavy breath.

"The only reason I was still tied down to the earth was because I had my final wish, which was for all of you to be friends again and not be alone. You're all together now so nothing is holding me here anymore, I have no strength to ignore the call to the other side any longer" Kihyun explained to Hyungwon who couldn't look up at him. He was paler than the last time Hyungwon had seen him, he hadn't noticed that he was gradually growing to be easier to see through.

"So that means you're leaving us then?" Kihyun nodded and Hyungwon swallowed.

"Did you tell Somi?"

"I wrote her a letter," Kihyun breathed out in a small voice and Hyungwon looked up, he was already less visible than when they had started their conversation, "but I need your help, I need you to make sure she knows how sorry I am, I am, so, so sorry, to all of you for doing something that I shouldn't have done. Please tell her that she has my love, that all of you do and I won't stop looking over all of you. I need you to be there for her because only you and Hoseok will understand her pain from now on, please do that for me?" Kihyun begged Hyungwon who nodded, eyes shining as they welled up with tears that were ready to fall.

"And Hyungwon, don't keep yourself in the rut that you've been in all these years, you're together again, find happiness and make your life great, I'm counting on you to do something fulfilling with your life, I'll be watching to make sure you do, brother" Kihyun smiled sadly and Hyungwon nodded once more, trying to swallow the aching lump in his throat as he wiped under his eyes with his sleeves.

"What will you do now?" Hyungwon asked Kihyun who was almost gone.

"I will go and find the others, check on them one last time before I finally stop ignoring my calling" He whispered sadly and Hyungwon breathed out shakily.

"This is goodbye then?" Kihyun nodded and Hyungwon's lips trembled.

"Goodbye then Kihyun, seeing you after so long was too short but sweet. Thank you for everything you did for me" Hyungwon nodded and Kihyun reached out, knowing full well he wouldn't be felt by Hyungwon.

"And thank you for everything you're doing for me" He smiled comfortingly, trying to hide how he to wished he could cry with Hyungwon.

"I'll go and find her now, ok?" Hyungwon sobbed and Kihyun nodded.

"Thank you Hyungwon" He blinked and Kihyun faded away, pulling Hyungwon's heart with him as he went. It was hard to see through his tears. but he pulled his phone out and dialled Somi's number as he changed his slippers for a pair of shoes.

"Hyungwon?" Somi tiredly spoke through the phone and Hyungwon's sobs shocked her as he answered.

"Mimi, I'm coming around ok?" 

"Ok, I'll open the front door for you," Somi told him and Hyungwon hummed, hanging up the phone before Somi's words of curiosity could reach him.

"What's happened?-" Somi pulled the phone away from her ear as she walked to her front door, looking down at the ended call log with pinched brows. She looked up to see Kihyun's back, only for him to disappear through the door as she reached a hand out.

"Kihyun!" She called, but he was gone and her foot was pushing what sounded like paper along the ground.

"I'm sorry Somi," His weak voice told her through the door and she pulled it open, ignoring what she had kicked. Kihyun was long out of her sight, completely gone with the wind and an overwhelming feeling of panic took over Somi as she looked down, trying to find what Kihyun had dropped at the door, having a feeling she knew what was coming.

Here come the sad parts :,(

This is the only direction that I could see this chapter going, which has brought me to the conclusion that the next chapter will be the final chapter for this story.

I think with everything that's happening, I would like to just peacefully finish this story and move onto the next. That doesn't mean I won't respond to comments and engage with you guys, just at the moment doing bonus chapters as I would normally like to doesn't feel like a possibility.

I noticed that we've reached fifty subs! So thank you for subscribing and coming along on this rollercoaster of emotions with me. Because trust me, every emotion that was displayed in this story has been felt while I was writing them.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this little story and sharing the last chapter with you, so I will talk to you again next week :)